Postcard from Alabama

Posted on Monday, 22 March 2010 by bruce10b

20-22 March 2010
We left E Tallahassee, FL and headed for the KOA in Lillian, AL… the Gulf Shores facility on Perdido Bay. It’s just over the bridge from the tip of the Florida panhandle where NAS Pensacola is located. For our 37′ Montana they have only 3 large sites suitable for transient use (their “supersites”) and we were assigned one of them. Thankfully I didn’t have to attend another meeting of the Brown Knee Society… I’ve managed to remember that it’s important to keep the drain valves for the black tank (the one used by the toilet) closed after disconnecting from the sewer.

We tried a fish place down on the strand (not sure that’s what locals call it), but by the time dinner was over we’d decided we should have stayed home. The next day, however, we ate lunch at Hazel’s (our second time), also on the strand, and enjoyed an inexpensive buffet. There are probably dozens of places to eat around here but we struggled finding them. So for now, Hazel’s is the best we can suggest.

Off to Lafayette, LA.

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Postcard from Florida- 5

Posted on Saturday, 20 March 2010 by bruce10b

18 March 2010
(Wildwood, FL)

We had stayed an extra day in Clewiston so we could enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day dinner at the KOA. By the time we waddled home we were glad we’d done it.

In the morning we had a couple visitors including Doug & Pat who brought home made doughnuts. My God they were good! Thanks guys. We patted our happy tummies, said our farewells and headed for Wildwood, FL.

Wildwood KOA isn’t great as KOAs go, but it’s friendly and convenient. And our site was wide enough to be easy in/out.

Wildwood is also the home of the The Cotillion restaurant. If you like dessert, yuh gotta stop here! Dinner was great but it got in the way of the 10″ tall angel food cake I had. I thought my mom’s Aunt Aggie was the master of angel food cake, but her reputation is being challenged! Amazing. We didn’t have reservations (might be smart to call ahead) and just managed to get the last available table.

When we got back to the Montana we were greeted by a wet floor. The new washing machine had overflowed which usually means a full or blocked tank. My habit is to connect the waste line to the sewer and then open the drain for the tank that collects the galley sink water and (on the new rig) the washing machine. I knew it was open so clearly the problem had to be the new Montana. I called a mobile repair service and was told $125 just to show up plus labor for whatever it takes to do the repair. His parting shot was “The last time I had a call like this it turned out the drain valve wasn’t open. Anyway, call me back if you want me to add you to the schedule.” I thought ‘here we go again!’ More repairs.

At Celia’s insistence I checked the valve which I knew was open and… oops! It wasn’t. Damn. Then I opened the drain valve and watched in panic as the flexible drain line connected to the sewer straightened and stiffened to the point I thought it might burst. Yikes! We’ve never had another problem with the washing machine, but to this day I cannot recall closing the valve after having first opened it. Gremlins I guess.

While I was outside I was treated to a great sunset… cluttered by power lines, but a delight nonetheless.

19 March 2010
From Wildwood we headed for E. Tallahassee and found ourselves in an older KOA in a rural setting. Lots of tall pine with mostly sand on the drives and sites. Unfortunately our site had some damage from the night before. One of the leveling jacks on a heavy Class A had punched thru the tangle of roots beneath the sand and left a deep 12″ pothole. In fact the park golf cart leading us in nearly capsized when he hit it (not an exaggeration!). I tried to like the site but eventually we asked to be moved as there wasn’t room for the slides.

Don’t know if they still do it, but we were greeted at the office with an invitation to stop back later for fresh chocolate chip cookies which were cooling and not quite ready. Hmmm… last nite angel food cake, tonight God’s own chocolate chip cookies. I fear we’re enjoying ourselves way too much! 🙂

Time to leave Florida and go to Lillian, AL.

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Postcard from Florida- 4

Posted on Thursday, 18 March 2010 by bruce10b

28 Jan – 4 Feb 2010
(Sugarloaf Key, Ramrod Key & Key West)

Sugarloaf Key KOA at night
KW street fair
Out for a walk on Noname Key

The trip to the keys was great: cafe con leche with cheese toast at 5 Brothers on Ramrod Key every morning; trips to town to get connected to the internet (voice & data cell service 300-400 yards off the Overseas Hwy is crap except for SMS messages); visited some old haunts; went for a great walk with Michael & the dogs on a key that was used by the military to train for the Cuban invasion; we cursed the noseeums a lot; got the truck serviced; and generally enjoyed ourselves. The last day the heavens opened up and we had a real gully washer… sans gullies. Must be time to leave.

2 Feb – 18 Mar 2010
(Clewiston & Sefner, FL)
We pulled out of Sugarloaf on 2/4 with the engine acting weird. It was misfiring at certain speeds and running poorly at others, so it made for a vary nervous drive to  the Miami area. The keys aren’t where you go to find diesel service and there’s no Ford dealer until you get to Miami. So we pushed on, avoiding the worst engine speeds. There is nowhere to pull off to the side of the road with a big 5th wheel in tow till you arrive at Largo.

We finally made it to Florida’s Turnpike and pulled off at the first rest area where I stopped the engine. I was digging for the Good Sam emergency road service card and for no good reason I tried to restart the engine… which ran perfectly. Oh great. Does this mean I could have stopped and restarted the engine 100 miles back and not had the miserable drive?! I don’t want to think about it. [ Note: After we got back we learned we had 1 bad injector which was replaced under warranty by Bob Turner Ford in Albuquerque, NM ]

Burning cane nearby

So off we went to Clewiston where we stayed for a couple nights. Then 2 nights stretched into 4, then another week. Finally we thought this was silly so we asked for an additional month ($550/mo + elec. at the time vs. $840/mo + free elec.).

The downside of Clewiston (motto: “Sweetest Little Town in America”; essentially a company town which exists because of US Sugar) is that the park is in the middle of the cane fields.US Sugar has a new process which eliminates burning the fields to harvest, but the independents still do it the old way: burn the fields (takes about 30 minutes, then let it cool) then cut the cane. This photo shows what it looks like right after they light the cane. Looks bad but the truth is I never did see soot on the rig.

It isn’t that the KOA in Clewiston is a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind park- it’s actually pretty old with very little updating that I could see. Rather it’s the people that stay here that make it special. We had a great time and look forward to coming back.

Glen, Dale and Doug with the flag

And the Canadians were wonderful. Especially after they won Olympics gold in ice hockey against the USA. They wanted to make sure everyone knew how the match ended, so a few got into the back of a restored 1957 Chevy pickup and drove around the park waving the maple leaf and yelling the news. Such thoughtful people. (&^%#@%!)

Back-row, but facing open pasture (to the right of the road)

Right after we moved to the rear of the park into the long-term area we had the awning fall off. That’s when I realized it had happened before and one base was re-attached to and area of very thin sheet metal with no support. It was a miracle it hadn’t fallen off earlier. I spotted a pair of holes in the coach sidewall that had been filled which looked to be the place it had originally been installed so that’s where I re-re-located the awning base.

The awning was the last straw. We’d been repairing the Montana all the way across country and there seemed to be no end in sight. Especially since I’d seen that the water heater had developed a slow leak and the electric heating element stopped working. It was likely the next to go.

Since we had been enjoying traveling with the dogs so much, we decided to spend a couple weeks looking at new fifth wheels to replace our Montana which had the front lounge (model 3655FL). Turned out Montana had a new (2010) version of the FL which we looked at. In our view, they had screwed up the design plus it was another 2′ longer than ours. So we passed on that. We looked at several brands but kept coming back to the Montana. Eventually we decided on the 3400RL (RL = rear lounge) with the Moving-to-Montana and Hickory Edition options packages and started looking for a unit on a dealer’s lot.

New (right) beside old ready to move our stuff

We located what we wanted East of Tampa. Lazy Days in Seffner, FL- supposedly the largest RV dealer in the US. They had a 2010 Montana 3400RL equipped with the options we wanted except slide toppers and 5.5 kW generator. Next thing we knew we’d bought a new Montana and Lazy Days would install the generator. The toppers would have to come later. [ Note: We’ve since learned slide toppers can be a hazard as they can’t be rolled up in a heavy wind without retracting the slide they’re attached to. If they had a way to retract separate from the slide, we’d still be interested in adding them. ]

The guy running the tug was amazing as he snaked the new rig past the open slide of the old one!

We towed our 2003 Montana to Seffner and expected to leave the next day with the new rig. One nite stretched into 2 then 3 and pretty soon it had been a week of living in a delivery area that had a layer of dirt/dust that would destroy any carpet. Plus it was a dry-camping area (no water, no sewer) only intended for a 1 or 2 nite stay. Apparently not much happens at Lazy Days (and you ask “Didn’t you pay attention to the name?!”) till you get pissed because, after a week of waiting-waiting-waiting, we were out of there 2 days after I vented. Our rush about leaving was because it was getting to be time to file taxes and we needed to be in Santa Fe for that since we didn’t bring everything with us. We won’t let that happen again!

We eventually got the rig back to Clewiston, spent a week of getting settled in, then we were off to Santa Fe after a great St. Patrick’s Day meal of corned beef and cabbage.

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Postcard from Florida- 3

Posted on Thursday, 28 January 2010 by bruce10b

26 – 28 Jan 2010
(Fiesta Key on Long Key, FL)

I’d done a Google for an RV campground in Key Largo which would break up the trip nicely. I found what we needed and called the number. Made the reservation and then loaded the address into the GPS.

When we arrived at the programmed address we were greeted by… nothing! There was no sign of the resort. Whatever had been there at one time had been consumed by the mangrove swamp. I suspected if I listened carefully I’d hear Tarzan swinging thru the trees.

Ocean views at Fiesta Key

A quick call to the same number got the explanation: Fiesta Key Resort has nothing to do with what the on-line listing is about. The phone number was right, but the address was way off. Not to worry though as Fiesta Key Resort had our reservation and all I had to do was drive another 25 miles. Looks like I need to ask questions even though a listing is quite clear.

Fiesta Key, apparently an ex-KOA park judging from the office building, was a nice park. We were 1 row back from the waterfront which is on the Atlantic. The dogs loved all the new smells and all the weird sounds of small waves slapping the sea wall. The park had perhaps 20% occupancy which was s shock for the middle of snowbird season. Yikes! I’m convinced it’s the prices here: $125/nite… even more than Sugarloaf Key where we’re headed next.

28 Jan 2010
(Sugarloaf Key, FL)

So off we went to our final destination. Check-in time is 1:00 pm and we arrived about 11:30 am. But our site was empty so they got us in our site ahead of the rush. Unlike any of the other campgrounds we’ve used, Sugarloaf has all sites at 90 deg to the access road instead of the usual 45 deg. It becomes a challenge in backing into place and requires a really good person to guide the driver into place. The guy who helped us was a master at it, but never had to prove it. Instead, he checked the empty site behind us and asked “Think you can make that turn?” I said sure (with my fingers crossed!) and we were able to park as though we had a pull-through site. Yee haw!

So now we’re parked in a beautiful campground which fronts on the Atlantic. It may not be paradise, but it’s as close as these 2 old toots are going to come. And we’re as far south as we can drive in the US… no way is Mrs. Bowman’s little boy dragging a 5th wheel into Key West!

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Postcard from Florida- 2

Posted on Tuesday, 26 January 2010 by bruce10b

22 Jan – 24 Jan 2010
(Wildwood, FL)

The park looked empty but filled later

Wildwood, FL was a stop very close to I-75 and truck stop. Standing outside and listening to the noise level had me convinced I’d made a disastrous mistake. But the reality was not bad at all. It’s old and the spaces are narrow and out of date, but everything worked and, since no one was given the space on either side of us, we had plenty of room.

So we took advantage of the room and deployed our awning for the first time. What a comedy of errors! But we got it out and are ready to repeat the performance the next time anyone needs some entertainment. One couple thought we were locked out and trying to get into the trailer and were ready to offer some suggestions. Or maybe they thought I was trying to break in… ???

The morning after we arrived everyone was invited to a pancake breakfast. We probably wouldn’t have fixed pancakes for ourselves, but when it means not having to wash dishes (that’s my job), I’ll be there! Apparently this is a fairly common weekend thing at these campgrounds and gives people the chance to meet other campers.

24 Jan – 26 Jan 2010
(L Okeechobee, FL)

I thought it was a small site… till Sugarloaf Key KOA

After Wildwood we were off to Lake Okeechobee KOA. Okeechobee was our first experience with a really crowded and upscale destination resort. If, like us, you’re not a golfer, you’ll probably feel out of place! I thought the sites were really tight (I now realize I had no concept what “tight” really means in an RV resort!). But no one seems to complain since they spend most of there time on the golf course or one of the two swimming pools. And they have entertainment at their convention center, e.g. The Four Aces were on the bill. The best feature was a mini dog park where the girls could be off-leash for awhile. I think Kelly set some sort of speed record for the facility and Annie had a great time herding Kelly. It was great watching them have a really good time.

Still some sites, but a day later it was filled

The resort grounds are gorgeous thanks to all the recent rainfall, and they added to the total while we were there. The rain made walking the dogs a challenge what with flooded streets. Since it was raining we decided to go for a drive around the lake. But Okeechobee has a surrounding levee and a drive around the lake amounts to a drive beside the levee. Not a droip of water can be seen except where the locks are visible from the road

So we thought “Hey, we haven’t had a Starbucks coffee for weeks… let’s go find one!” Asking around we learned Starbucks is non-existent here. What’s more we couldn’t find any place that had an espresso machine. Bummer.

On the 26th we were off to the Keys. First Key Largo for the night, then on to Sugarloaf Key where we’re booked for a week.

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